Let me know if you do. I have 4 seats for every day of the race meet, and usually some of the seats go unused. Any racing fan that can get to Saratoga needs to go there. But let me warn you, you can't go just once! My first day at the races was October 5th, 1968 when I saw Shuvee beat Gallant Bloom at a mile. That in itself is incredible, as Shuvee was a router. She won the Jockey Club Gold Cup twice (as did her sire Nashua), back when it was run at 2 miles. My memories of racing from 1968 through Secretariat are precious to me. In my mind, racing has not been nearly as good in the years since then. At Saratoga, the horses were stilled saddled around the trees and the public could stand just a few feet away from them. Today, horses are saddled in the paddock and only owners and trainer can get near them. So I stood within 5 feet of horses like Secretariat. Amazing. I also remember the finish of his first race - which he lost. Other than my husband and my ex-boyfriend (who introduced me to racing), I'm sure nobody else remembers: Herbull, Master Achiever, Fleet 'n Royal, Secretariat, Big Burn ... and no, I didn't just look that up. I didn't see Kelso, either in person (we always say "in horse") or on TV. I hadn't yet been introduced to horse racing. Forego was a big favorite of my husband's so we did have a favorite old gelding to cheer on. I had better not tell my husband that Dish has still another channel with horse racing! Well, that battle is lost; I'm sure we'll have it added by the Fall (can't drop DirecTV because of NFL Sunday Ticket). Anyhow, if you do plan a trip to Saratoga, let me know.
|